Hunted
by DCLynneHaddock
Summary: Ryan's thrilled when everyone appears to accept his relationship with Chad, but there's one problem. Troy. As he commands Ryan to end it with Chad, is he just being protective of his friend, or does he have another reason...? Ryan/Chad Troy/Ryan Slash
1. Prologue

Hey. This is my first proper full-length fanfiction on here, so I hope you enjoy it, and can I ask: If you read, please review. I would be very grateful.

Also, I need to ask that you excuse any British spelling or phrases that may appear. I'm Scottish, and- although I'm trying- I find it hard to get into the American mindset sometimes. So please excuse that.

Oh, and this is a slash. In this case, this means male/male relationships. So if you don't like that, I'd suggest you turn back now.

Thank you and enjoy.

-.O.O.O.-

"That was just luck," Chad claimed as he led the way into my house.

I shook my head in mock pity as I shut the door behind us. "Just face it, Danforth," I drawled. "I won because I'm better at baseball than you. That's why I've won the past…" I paused, pretended to count on my fingers. "…seven times?" I ducked under his feeble swipe at my head easily, ending up on the other side of him. "Now, now…" I patronised. "Don't be bitter…"

He lunged for me, and I took off up the stairs, laughing as he followed, trying to grab my ankles as we ran up. I was safely ahead- until I had to stop to open my door. By the time I took one step into the room, he collided with me from behind, sending both of us sprawling to the floor.

We grappled, Chad being determined to pin me down whilst I was just as determined not to let him. Driving an elbow back into his stomach, I managed to kick him off me and I jumped to my feet, taking two steps backwards only for the backs of my knees to hit my bed so I feel backwards onto it with a loose chuckle at my own bad balance.

He jumped onto the bed, one leg landing on either side of my thighs, wedging me in place. He grabbed both my arms easily as I reached up to push him off, and pinned them to the bed above my head. I was trapped.

Chad grinned down at me, "Say that I'm better than you."

My arms were straining already, but I stared up at him coolly as I carried out his request: "I'm better than you."

H leant right down so his face was in mine, "You know that's not what I meant."

I purposefully made my eyes as innocently wide as possible, "Oh? Wasn't it?"

He laughed softly, his eyes trailing over my face slowly. Then he moved his face even closer to mine- so close that his lips brushed mine. Then he shifted back, waiting for my reaction, like I was going to scream and kick him off me. But I just removed one of my hands from his slackened grasp, and reached up to curl it round the back of his neck, pulling his mouth back down to mine.

This kiss was firmer, more definite. His mouth melded to mine as he relaxed and I arched my back in an attempt to get closer to him.

Pulling away, I shifted backwards up the bed, fisting a handful of his t-shirt so he came with me. Once my legs had been freed from the discomfort of being bent over the bed frame at an awkward angle, I took in his flushed face, cupping it in one hand and dragging my thumb along his cheekbone before inclining my head again to kiss his lips.

I had never thought about Chad like that before. He had just always been…Chad. Sure, we'd gotten close over the summer, and he'd known I was gay and had been fine with it. But I'd always thought he was straight, so never thought about him in a romantic sense.

But now, with his lips on mine as we sunk down on the bed, me in the dominant position, oh, yeah. All this lust I didn't even realise I had in me was just…pouring out. His hands moved up to entangle themselves in my hair, which was uncovered since I'd lost my hat when he'd tackled me to the floor. I took the kiss deeper, sliding my tongue through the barrier of his lips so it met his silkily. My hands toyed with the hem of his top as he rolled me onto my back.

"Ryan, Mom's not going to be-" There was s gasp, and- as Chad jerked back- I saw Sharpay standing in my doorway, one hand at her mouth in shock. Lowering it, she smirked at me, "Getting frisky when Mom's away… Didn't think you had it in you."

I rolled my eyes, and Chad leaned his face into the crook of my neck in humiliation at being caught. Sharpay made a condescending face at the back of his head, "Anyway, mom's not going to be back until late, so we're to get take-out."

"Okay." I made a dismissive gesture with my hand, telling her not-so-subtly to go away. She flicked her gaze to Chad critically.

"He's better than the last one," was all she said before leaving, shutting the door carefully behind her- something we'd forgotten to do on the way in. Chad swore softly into my neck.

I chuckled, "Don't worry. She doesn't care. I can tell her you don't want anyone to know, if you want?"

He shook his head now, brining it back to look me in the eye, "No. I've waited too long for this to happen to hide away now it has."

I couldn't hold back the laugh, though I wanted to for his sake, "Sap."

"Bitch."

"Sorry. Family trait."

He grinned, before kissing my lips softly. "What I'm trying to say…" he said patiently as he picked up one of my hands, kissing the fingertips. "…is: Ryan Evans, will you be my boyfriend?"

I faked a yawn, "Not sure I can be bothered…" I laughed as he bit my finger in mock insult. "Okay. Okay. Don't eat me." Pulling my hand from his grasp for my own safety, I smiled at him, "Yes, Chad. I will."


	2. Part 1: Supported

Thank you to everyone who's left a comment for me.  
It means a lot to me that you would take the time to do that.

So thank you again.  
And here's another add for all of you.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters from it. They are products of the Disney Channel.

-.O.O.O.-

"Remember, Ryan," Sharpay told me as we walked into school the following Monday. "We have rehearsals during free period. Don't be late."

"I won't be," I told her dutifully as I followed her to her locker. But something was off.

"Shar," I hissed in an undertone as I leant on the locker next to hers. "People are staring."

She gave me a sweet smile, "You say that like it's a bad thing…"

"Not at you," I told her. "At me. And more so…than usual."

She shrugged, glancing briefly over her shoulder, "We'll find out sooner or later. No gossip stays quiet in this school."

"Hey, Evans." We both looked round to see Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross standing there. Zeke cleared his throat nervously under Sharpay's scrutinising gaze, "We meant the _male_ Evans."

As Sharpay rolled her eyes and turned back to her locker, I kept my eyes on the jocks. "Look," Jason began slowly. "We just wanted to say that… this whole thing, we're fine with it."

I blinked at them, "What thing?"

They looked surprise. "You and Chad...?" Jason expanded, a questioning tone to his voice.

"Oh… So, he told you?"

"Yeah," Zeke responded easily. "I- for one- knew it was coming. But we just wanted to… extend our support."

"And let you know: If you ever get any hassle, tell us," Jason added.

"Guys, you've known I was gay since the summer," I reminded them blankly.

"Yeah. But now you're dating Chad, you're in the public eye, aren't you?" Jason pointed out with a shrug. "More people will take notice now. No offence."

"None taken." I elbowed Sharpay as she opened her mouth to defend our social standing. "Thanks, guys. That's…good to know. How are the others taking it?"

Zeke nodded, "Generally good."

"Yeah, but Troy's a little shocked."

I frowned, "Bad shocked?"

Jason shook his head, "Just shocked."

"I think he's suffering from the typical best friend 'I-should-have-foreseen-it' guilt," Zeke remarked. "It'll pass."

--

I grinned as Sharpay slammed her locker shut at lunchtime, "Eager, are we?"

She shot me a withering look, "We need to nail this audition, Ry. This is our chance to bust out of amateur performing." She took hold of my arm, "So come on!"

"Ryan?"

"Oh, it's the boyfriend," Sharpay remarked flippantly. She released my arm, "Five minutes, lover boy, or I'm coming for you. Meet us there. Come on, Kelsi."

As Sharpay marched Kelsi away, I turned to see Chad walking towards me. It was the first time I'd seen him all day. WE had one class together, but no time to talk. "Hey."

"Hi." He stopped in front of me, his hands tight on the straps of his backpack, "Sorry about making you the talk of the school."

I shrugged, "It's cool. It's nice to be known as something other than 'Sharpay's brother'. Being the guy who turned Chad Danforth gay is _not _an insult…"

He laughed, and his grip visibly relaxed, "Good. People seem to be taking it fairly well."

I bit my lip softly, "How's Troy?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, "How did you know about that?"

"Zeke and Jason mentioned it when they came to offer me their support."

He chuckled at the thought, "That's such a Zeke thing to do." He smiled, reaching out to take one of my hands, "Troy's good. He was a bit weirded out at first, but I think it was just shock."

I smiled slowly, "Glad to hear it."

"Dude, hoops," Troy announced, slapping Chad on the back companionably as he arrived, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we'd just been talking about him. "Since it's free period just after lunch, we're gonna run through."

"But I forgot my lunch. I need to run home and get it."

Troy groaned, "Chad, we need you."

"Can't you just quickly get something from the cafeteria?" I suggested. "That's what Kelsi does when Sharpay wants extra rehearsals."

He patted down his pockets with his free hand, "I'm dry."

I rolled my eyes, "You're just a walking disaster, aren't you? If a cute one. Here. If they need you at practise…"

"You don't have to-" Chad began as I let go of his hand and dug into my jeans pocket for my wallet. But I held up my other hand to silence him.

"You need to eat. Pay me back later if it bugs you so much."

"Thanks," he told me gratefully. Troy nodded. "I'll go get lunch just now and meet you in the gym. We still on for tonight?" he asked me.

"Definitely."

"Right. See you then." He leaned forward to peck me on the lips gently before he sped off. I allowed myself to grin after him, not caring how goofy I looked.

"Can I talk to you?" Troy asked me, a serious look on his face.


	3. Part 2: Commanded

Again, my sincerest thanks to all who have left a comment.  
It means so much to me that you would take the time.  
You leaving comments lets me know that there's people reading and that they're enjoying it, so thank you.

-.O.O.O.-

"Can I talk to you?" Troy asked me, a serious look on his face. I glanced at my watch.

"I can't right now. Sharpay gave me five minutes, and it's just about to run out. I have to go."

"What about free period?" he asked, urgency lining his voice.

I shook my head, "She's doing the same thing as you lot are."

"Then after school?"

I nodded, accepting that he appeared desperate to have this conversation with me, "Fine. I'll meet you in the gym after the final bell."

--

"You walking home with me?" Chad asked, curling his arms around my waist as I shoved my books into my locker at the end of the day.

"I would, but Troy wants to talk to me."

I felt him frown as he rested his chin on my shoulder, "Why?"

"Beats me. It all seemed very urgent." I shut my locker, turned to face him, leaning my back against the metal, "He probably just wants to do the started best friend 'don't-hurt-him' speech. For some reason, they feel more inclined to give the talk to guys than girls."

He still looked unsure, "Want me to stick around?"

I looped my arms around his neck casually, "Nah, I'll be fine. You go, and I'll see you later."

He kissed me softly, "Okay. See you later." He touched his lips to mine again briefly, before walking off. I headed towards the gym.

Troy was already there, dribbling a basketball towards the hoop and shooting experimentally. It bounced off the rim, skittering to the left. I cocked my head to the side as I started towards him, watching as he retrieved it and tried again, with the same result. "I've never seen you miss before."

He turned to look at me, "And you could do better?"

I offered him a charming smile, "I'm not captain of the basketball team." But I caught the ball he bounced my way easily. "What's this about, Troy?"

He watched as I dribbled the ball effortlessly towards him. Just because I didn't play basketball didn't mean I didn't know how to handle one. "You and Chad. I want you to break it off."

I caught the ball in my hands so the final bounce reverberated around the now silent hall, "What?"

"I know what you Evans' are like. I want you to end it before you hurt him."

I began to bounce the ball again slowly as I surveyed him, "Give me five reasons why I would hurt him. Sharpay and everything she's done to you aside- why would I do that?"

"You've helped her in the past. You're not innocent."

I considered, "Fair enough. That's one strike. Four to go." When he looked perplexed, I smirked, "Thought as much. So here's how it's going to work, Bolton: I'm going to keep going out with Chad, and you won't try to get between us without a proper reason."

He scowled, "And why would I obey you?"

I moved towards him again, and the look on my face had him taking an uneasy step back. I caught the ball again as I stopped right in front of him, "_Because_, I'm a good-natured person, generally, but if you cross me on this with no reason other than you hate my sister, you are going to see that the family resemblance goes a _lot _further than a love of theatre." Turning sharply, I launched the ball in my hands, so it fell into the basket neatly, then I smiled at Troy, "Are we clear?"

He swallowed, "Yes."

"Good." I stepped back, adjusting the shoulder strap on my bag, "I'm not a horrible person, you know. I care about Chad, and I want to get along with you, since you're his best friend and all. But you try telling anyone to break up with their boyfriend because you want them to, and see how they react." Shaking my head at him pitifully, I backed off a few more steps, before turning and walking away.

--

"Ryan!" Chad called to me, waving from the outdoor basketball court as I headed to my car after drama. With a smile, I altered my course. It had been two months since I'd had the confrontation with Troy in the gym, and Chad and I were going from strength to strength.

He jogged out to meet me as I moved towards him, and grinned as he flicked the leg of my sunglasses so they bounced on my nose, "You look so hot in shades."

I laughed, "Restrain yourself. You should get back to practise. Don't want to fall behind, do you?"

Coach Bolton looked impressed, "See? Ryan knows what he's talking about. Now back on the court."

As Chad grinned, kissing me on the nose jokily before getting back into place, I rolled my eyes at his back. But the fond smile was wiped from my face as I felt a cold gaze hit me. Angling my head with a frown, I stared Troy down. Although being perfectly civil to me when Chad was around, he still didn't like me. And I didn't care anymore.

Chad and I were happy, and Troy Bolton was _not _coming between us.


	4. Part 3: Confused

I must apologise for the extensive wait between the last add and this one.  
My head's all over the place right now and I'm insanely busy with my exams approaching.  
Thank you again for all the comments. Keep them coming, please, because I love to hear your thoughts.

-.O.O.O.-

"Shar?" I called a week later, stepping in through the front door. "I thought we had rehearsals. Where were you?" I paused in the front hall, listened. There was no response, but I could hear movement in the lounge. "Shar, what are you-?"

I froze in the archway leading into the living room. My sister was half naked on the floor, with none other than Troy Bolton on top of her. I don't know why this surprised me so much. Sharpay had always had a thing for him, and Troy wasn't connected to anyone. The thing with Gabriella had fizzled out as soon as it had started, with them deciding they were better off as friends. But…he hated Sharpay, didn't he?

"Oh," I said breathlessly as they both snapped up to look at me. "That's what you're doing. I'm just gonna…" I motioned behind me lamely, before turning and running off as fast as I could.

Sharpay ran into the kitchen after me a few seconds later, still buttoning her shirt as I slammed my bag down on the countertop, "Ryan, I didn't mean-"

I braced my hands on the breakfast counter, gripping the edge, closing my eyes as I tried to regulate my breathing, "I know you have sex, Sharpay. I just don't want to _see _you doing it."

I sensed her nodding, "Understood."

I opened my eyes, looked up at her, "And Troy Bolton?! How did that even happened?!"

She walked to the fridge, removed two bottles of juice, throwing me one. "We were paired up for a Social Studies assignment."

I swallowed a mouthful of juice, "Uh-huh. And I see you're making steady progress on that _assignment_."

"Look, it just happened. I'm not sure how, but-"

Someone cleared their throat at the door, "Erm… Guys… I'm just gonna head off."

I shook my head, "Stay."

Troy blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Stay. I don't care." I headed for the door, moved out past Troy, "I'm going to my room. You can get back to your 'assignment'."

"Evening, duckie," my mom said fondly as I strolled into the kitchen later.

"Hi, Mom," was my cheerful response. I stopped by the counter, plucked a grape from the bunch sitting there. "Where's Shar?" I asked as I chewed.

"In her room, hard at work with Troy," she told me with a slight knowing eyebrow wiggle that had me laughing. You couldn't get anything past our mother.

"She's hard at work at something all right…" I swallowed another grape, "You all packed for Europe?"

Mom was going on vacation with a group of her friends for three months, starting tomorrow morning- touring around Europe. So that meant, as Dad only came home once every two weeks at the moment since he was so busy at work, that Sharpay and I would effectively be home alone. But we were able to manage.

She nodded, "I am. Are you sure that you two are going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine," I assured her.

She leaned over to kiss my cheek, angling her head carefully so she didn't dislodge my hat, "It's my job to worry. And remember, no wild parties."

"The repercussions of breaking anything are enough to put us off that idea," I muttered.

"You could always have Chad round."

I looked over at the far-too-innocent tone of her voice; saw her busying herself with the coffee pot. I shook my head in amusement, "You love the fact that I have a boyfriend, don't you?"

She flushed, "Well, it seemed that your sister had lots of boyfriends while you were on your own. And Chad's a lovely young boy…"

I grinned, turning my attention back to the grapes, "Yeah. He is."

She smiled at me, "Could you go and tell Sharpay and Troy that dinner will be ready in about ten minutes?"

I frowned, "He's staying for dinner?"

"Yes. I know you don't get along with him, but it seemed the polite thing to do. Is this a problem?"

I shook my head, forced a smile at the thought of having a meal with the guy who hated my guts, "No problem."

"Glad to hear it."

I scowled to myself as I left the kitchen and started up the stairs. Whatever my personal feelings for Troy were, I couldn't ask Mom to uninvite him from dinner. I paused outside Sharpay's door, knocked thrice. "You decent?" I hollered through it.

"Yeah," was the immediate response. I opened the door to see Sharpay sitting on her beanbag while Troy lay on his stomach on the floor, mind-maps and other pieces of paper scattered over the floor in front of them.

"Wow," I acknowledged. "We didn't think you'd actually be working. Dinner's in ten."

Sharpay nodded at me, and I went to close the door, but Troy scrambled to his feet. "Wait. Ryan, can I talk to you?"

"It didn't work out too well last time you said that," I remarked once he'd moved out into the hall and shut the door.

He sighed, "I just wanted to say: I'm sorry if me and Sharpay make you uncomfortable."

I gave him an incredulous look, "Why would I care?"

His eyebrows winged up, "I-"

"You're hardly the first if her guys to hate me," I told him evenly. "We don't have to get along if you start dating her. Matter of fact, we don't even have to talk."

His eyes narrowed, "Under it all, you're colder than she is."

I laughed in surprised amusement, "We're about even, actually. I'm just not trying to charm you out of your pants…"

His lips curved, and a glint came into his eye, "Can't say I'd oppose if you did." And, with that, he turned and walked back into Sharpay's room, leaving me slack jawed in the hall.

What the hell had just happened?


	5. Part 4: Practiced

Sorry for the wait.  
Same old excuse, I'm afraid.  
Exams and life get in the way of everything...

As always, thank you for the reviews.  
I love reading your comments.  
And thank you for all the alert subscriptions and everything.  
Keep 'em coming.

-.O.O.O.-

"No, we need a tighter spin there."

I groaned, pushing her away from me, "If I spin you any tighter, it'll look jerky."

Sharpay fisted her hands on her hips, "And whose fault would that be?"

"Look, come here." I motioned her over, took her left hand, and spun her into me gracefully. "That's how I did it just now." I spun her out again, then repeated the manoeuvre, but this time she stumbled against me. "And that's what would happen if I made it tighter."

"But it wouldn't fit the music otherwise." She pointed a finger at me as the doorbell rang, "Hang on. We'll sort this out when I get back."

"Yes, master." I rolled my eyes towards Kelsi as Sharpay flounced out, and the pianist chuckled. Then I crossed to the piano, "By the way, my first few lines in the long, does it end on a high or low note?"

"Hm?"

"My starting lines," I prompted. "Is it: 'I'm breaking out of this shell and going for the gold'?" I sang the line, going up at the end. "Or:-?" I repeated the line, going down instead.

"Oh. Up on that one," she told me. "'Cause this is the hope. It's positive. But for the next line, you go down." She played the intro easily, and sang Sharpay's opening part, before nodding at me to go.

_I'm breaking out of this shell and going for the gold  
__But you restrain me, I'm secure in your hold._

I paused, cocked my head to the side, "She chose a pretty bleak song, didn't she?"

"It's a bleak show, Ry," Sharpay reminded me as she strode in. "We need to sound the part. And you're meant to be singing with me, not Kelsi."

"Well, maybe if you didn't take so long answering the door, I wouldn't have to," I retorted. "Who was it, anyway?" I looked round, saw Troy standing behind her in the archway. "Oh." I turned away again, muttering to myself: "Great…"

"So, this spin…"

I rolled my eyes, turning my gaze to hers again, "Shar, it's not going to work."

"Well, we'll have to make it work," she told me haughtily. "Because your way completely disturbs the timing."

"Well, can't we just elongate the next three moves and cut out your swoop?"

She stared at me like I'd just suggested that she shave off all her hair and dye her scalp maroon. "Are you insane?!" she squawked. "The swoop is vital!"

"It's only there so you can flash your cleavage at the judges!"

She patted me on the shoulder condescendingly, "Therefore increasing our chances! You're so naïve…"

I gave a snort of derision, "_They_'d have to be to fall for that."

"The swoop stays- end of discussion," she told me matter-of-factly.

I stared at him evenly, "Are you gonna go through life on sex-appeal?"

She gave me a bright smile, "It's working for me so far. And I'm glad you respect me enough to acknowledge that it would be sex _appeal_, not the actual act."

"You're a tease, Shar, not a whore," I said mildly. Then groaned as the doorbell rang again, "This rehearsal isn't happening, is it?"

"Probably not right now," she agreed as I headed through the archway and into the front hall. I pulled open the door easily, and my mood instantly brightened.

"Hey."

Chad grinned at me, "Hey. What's up?"

"Sharpay's not playing fair," I remarked, shooting a look over my shoulder.

He shrugged, "What else is new?"

My eyes narrowed, "Watch it, Danforth. We twins can get very protective of one another." Grabbing a fistful of his top, I pulled his mouth onto mine. The kiss was short and heated as I tugged him inside and closed the door.

"Right," I heard Kelsi announce loudly. "I'm going before I turn into a fifth wheel."

I grinned at her as I pulled back, "Shut the door on your way out, yeah?"

She whacked me playfully with her manuscripts on the way out, "Cheeky. Call me when you need me."

"Kelsi," I said in a mock-serious tone that had her looking back as she pulled open the door. "I always need you."

She laughed, holding her folder up at the side of her face and pointing through it at Chad in a purposefully unsly manner. "Don't let him know," she said in a stage whisper, before backing out and closing the door.

"Chad!" Troy greeted, appearing in the arch Kelsi had just walked under.

"Troy," Chad moved over to him. "What're you doing here?"

Troy smiled as I moved past both of them to help Sharpay move the couch back into place. We'd shoved all the furniture aside so we could dance. We had a studio down in the private gym, but be preferred the living room. "Just came to see Sharpay," Troy said as we heaved.

"Shove that chair back into place, Ryan?" Sharpay said, alerting them to what we were doing as we each pushed a piece of furniture across the room.

"Don't you two have, like, servants to do that for you?" Troy asked in amazement as we arranged the furniture appropriately.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, "Normally, we do. But whenever we're in the house alone, we dismiss them. Ryan can't quite understand the point of letting them do their job."

I shrugged off her narrow look, "I just think it's a little demeaning that I'm expected to be so lazy that I can't open a door by myself."

"Need any help there?" Chad asked. I leaned on the back of my chair.

"He asks just as we finish…"

"Typical," Sharpay agreed.

Chad walked over to me, "We can't help if we don't know what you're doing."

I chuckled as I looped my arms around his neck, "You're meant to be psychic… Want a drink?"

"You're meant to know that already with your psychic abilities," he responded.

"Mm… Clever…" I gave him a quick kiss and pushed him down onto the sofa. "Wait here." I looked at Sharpay- who looked like she was holding in a coo- and Troy- who looked like he was about to puke, "Want anything?"

"The usual," Sharpay told me.

"I'll come and help you," Troy offered. I shrugged and walked out of the room, leaving him to follow.

"You don't like me," he observed, shutting the door behind him as he entered the kitchen.

"Go figure."

He watched me as I walked to the fridge, "You're still mad that I told you to break it off with Chad. I was only trying to help."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked in irritation as I pulled out a bottle of juice for Sharpay, water for me and a soda for Chad- the one he always had when he was over. "And how did you work that one out?"

"You're not right for each other."

I slammed the fridge door closed, "That's _not _your concern, thank you very much." Moving round the counter, I glared at him, "Look, I know you don't like me going out with Chad because you think I'm going to break him or something, but-"

He cut me off with a soft laugh that had me frowning, "You're so dense, Ryan…" I backed off as he reached for me, but my back knocked up against the breakfast counter, and he had me trapped. "I don't think you're going to break him. I only said that to get you to back off. Can you really not see what's going on here…?"

"Why did you want me to back off?" I asked him coldly. And, with his eyes boring into mine, he moved a hand up to drag a ghost of a finger across my cheekbone lazily. Then he inclined his head and touched his lips to mine gently, leaving me rigid with shock.

"Because," he whispered. "If I can't have you, he sure as hell can't."


	6. Part 5: Enraged

Sorry for the wait once again.  
My exams are coming up this month, and so I'm really running low on time, so you might not get an add for a while.  
Bear with me, though.

And once more, thank you for all the comments, favourites and alerts. It means so much to me.

-.O.O.O.-

Then his mouth was on mine again- hot and hard this time, his lips melding to mine as he trailed his tongue along my lower lip lustily before forcing it into my mouth passionately. I slid my hands up his chest, firmed my grip, and shoved him away hard.

"What the hell are you doing?" I spat harshly.

He bit his lip seductively, not at all phased by my reaction, "Being honest."

"I'm your best friend's boyfriend! You're dating my sister!"

"So?" was his incredulous response.

"_So _you can't just kiss me! You're meant to hate me!"

"Thin line, Ryan…"

"No!" I told him, drilling a finger into his chest. "Don't go there! That isn't what this is! You just can't let him anything, can you? Troy Bolton always has to be the centre of attention, even if he crushes people who are meant to be his friends. You just want everything!!"

He looked amused, "And I always get it. So we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"Or we can not do it at all," I snapped.

"Not an option." He stepped towards me again, "You're creative, theatre-driven, passionate… He's a sports guy. You won't work together."

"Again, that's none of your business!"

"We would."

A snort of contempt escaped my mouth, "Because you're so deep…?"

"Ryan?" Chad's voice called suddenly. "Are you two making the drinks yourselves or something…?" The kitchen door opened, and Chad walked in. He felt the tension, caught the glare I was still giving Troy, "What's going on?"

I forced a smile, "Nothing. Give Sharpay her drink, will you, Troy? Come on, Chad. Let's go upstairs."

"What was that about?" Chad pressed as we started up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes, "Just giving him the 'hurt-my-sister-and-I'll-kill-you' talk. He didn't take it very well." I reached the top a few steps ahead of him, and turned, holding his bottle up for him to see. "Come on… Don't you want this…?"

--

I couldn't get my head around it.

All this time I'd thought that Troy Bolton hated me and it turned out that he had the hots for me. It was weird, unexpected, surreal, odd- a whole thesaurus of negative and confusing words. I mean, hello! I was dating his best friend! And he was with my twin sister! How much more twisted could you get…?

Well, he could forget it. I wasn't leaving Chad for him just because of his shock announcement.

There was a scowl fixed onto my face as I cut through the water gracefully. It just didn't add up. Why would he even want me? He could have anyone in this school. I was still suspicious that it was just a need to have everything, and not allowing Chad to be unique this once.

"Why are you always here?!" I demanded as a pair of red Vans appeared in my line of vision at the edge of the pool.

Troy crouched down as I stopped at the side, his lips curving, "Sharpay asked me to stay the night. Didn't you ask Chad?"

"He had to look after his sisters." I pushed away from the edge, purposefully kicking water up into his face.

He let out an outraged splutter, "Now, that's just childish!"

I stopped where I was, treading water, "I don't care! What you did yesterday was completely inappropriate! You had no right to put me in that position!"

Pain came into his eyes, "It was killing me…seeing you with him."

I gave him a dark look, "You'd've lived."

An expression of fury laced his features, "Yeah, like I wanted to fall for such a _drama queen_…!"

I swam to the side, pulled myself out, "I thought that was what you went for…"

He frowned, "What?"

"Well, Sharpay, me… And, let's face it; Gabriella's about as subtle as a meat-cleaver to the back of the head." I stood up slowly, "Face it, Bolton. We 'drama queens' are exactly your type."

--

"Shar, is my cell phone in here?" I asked, strolling into her room a week later, and directing my question towards where she lay on her stomach on the bed.

"Why would it be?"

"I took it out my pocket last night when we were watching that movie. I think I forgot to take it back." I spotted it on her bedside table, and walked over to pick it up, flipping it open to check for messages, before closing it again and sliding it into my pocket. I turned back to find Sharpay right there. "You're in my way, Evans."

Her grin was evil, "Then move me." Then she laughed as I pulled her into a quick rumba position, back-stepping her across the room. I couldn't help but laugh as well. People always assumed that Sharpay and I didn't get on because she could be a little over-confident, but in reality there were was no-one I was more synced with. She had her quirks, and I had mine, but we gelled.

"Troy," she suddenly gasped breathlessly, and I turned my head to look at him, not breaking the hold and commanding myself not to let the grin slip from my face.

"Hey," he responded easily, leaning against the doorframe. It was actually like he'd moved in!

I spun Sharpay away from me, bowed to her as she gave me a jokey curtsy in return. "Right. I'm off."

"Where're you going?" Troy wanted to know.

"He has a date," Sharpay said in a self-important voice that made my grin genuine again. "A weekend away. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Which leaves a wealth of possibilities," I teased, laughing as she slapped my arm in retort. "See you later."


	7. Part 6: Prepared

New add alert!  
This one's quite long because I couldn't work out where would be a suitable ending point...  
Again, thank you for all the comments, favouritisms and everything. During such a stressful period as my exams, it really makes me happy. Keep it up.  
Hope you enjoy this next add.  
And as usual I disclaim ownership of High School Musical, or anything associated with it. This is a result of my overactive imagination.

-.O.O.O.-

"Master Evans." Fulton hurried over to me as I climbed out of my car at Lava Springs. "Your father informed me that you were coming for the weekend."

I smiled at him, "That's right. I'm also going to be joined later by Chad Danforth- as my guest. When he arrives, I want him shown to my room with no questioning, no demoralising and no general problems. He's not an employee anymore. Is that clear?"

He nodded, "Of course. Welcome back. Do you need shown to your room?"

I shook my head, "I think I know the way by now. But it would be great if someone could take my bags there for me. Is my father in the building?"

Fulton nodded as he motioned for a man to take my holdall, "He is in his office."

"Okay. Thank you."

--

"Son!" my father greeted cheerfully. "I wasn't expecting you so early."

"I thought I'd come ahead."

"Straighten the hat," he said distractedly, and I fixed it with a scowl, even though both of us knew full well I was just going to tilt it again the second I stepped out the door. "So…" he said. "I'm finally going to meet this boyfriend…"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes. Tomorrow night. But one embarrassing childhood story, and I'm faking stomach pain so we have to leave."

He looked baffled, "What's wrong with that?"

"Remember the time you told Sharpay's boyfriend that she wore diapers 'til she was four?" I asked- a sarcastic tone in my voice.

"That's a sweet story!"

"I had to confiscate her fork to stop her from stabbing you with it!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender, "Okay. No childhood stories."

"Or puberty stories."

"Right."

"Or any stories concerning me at all."

"Fine."

I gave him a sweet smile, "I'm doing this for your own protection…"

He laughed, "I'm sure you are, son. You can be as bad as your sister when you want to be- though, don't tell her I said that."

"You adore her but sometimes she frightens the hell out of you," I sympathised. "Fully understood."

"I'm glad." He shuffled some of the papers that were on his desk, "I'll book a table for tomorrow night and send the details to your room."

"Okay. See you then." I left the office, nudging my red fedora back into place as soon as I was out of sight. Right. Next order to business…

--

"So that's confirmed?"

The maître d' nodded, "Yes, Master Evans. Everything will be in place for your arrival at nine."

I smiled, "Thank you." I turned to leave, hoping to get away unseen.

"Coo-ee! Ryan!"

I winced. No such luck. Fixing another smile, fake this time, onto my face, I turned and walked over to the table where one of my mother's cohorts was seated. "Miss. Braxton… How are you keeping?"

She giggled girlishly. A woman of sixty-odd trying to hold onto her youth, and going about it completely the wrong way. "I'm keeping just fine. I've got a lunch date." She reached up, pinched one of my cheeks, "Got to keep myself entertained until you realise you love me. You are a handsome boy… Still homosexual?"

I bit my tongue gently in amusement, released it, "Still homosexual."

She patted my hand contentedly as a man took a seat opposite her at the table, obviously having just come back from the bathroom. "You'll get over it. You can't fight fate, Ryan, and you and I are destined to be together."

I nodded, keeping my face sombre as her lunch date looked at me in shocked horror, "Yeah… My brain's just _telling _me I'm gay because no girl could ever match up to you." I brought her hand up to my lips as she giggled again, and her date let out an obvious sigh of relief. "I'll leave you be."

And that's when I realised. I'd thought there was something different about her, but it was only now that the penny dropped. Her nose! She'd had a nose job! Not much, but a slight difference, I noted with bemusement. I smiled as I moved away. "Love the adjustment, by the way," I told her, tapping my nose. She blushed.

"You're the first person to notice without being told."

I gave her a playful wink, "That's because it suits your face so well."

--

I was brought out of sleep by a sensuous mouth on my neck, lacing kisses up onto my jaw. I opened my eyes slowly, only for Chad to kiss me so tenderly that they slid closed again.

"What time's it?" I murmured against his mouth.

"Seven."

My eyes shot open, "Damn. I didn't mean to fall asleep." I'd only lain down for a second, but wasn't that always the way? "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah. And it's fine." Chad reached over to play with my hair as I sat up. "You look really cute when you sleep."

"Glad you think so," I told him, taking the hand that was mussing my hair and pressing a kiss to his palm. "I'm also glad you could make it."

His grin was quick and cheeky, "Are you kidding? A posh country club… A weekend with the hottest guy ever… I would've been here yesterday if I could've been."

I grinned, "Charmer." I leaned across the bed, capturing his lips with mine.

--

"Master Evans, your table is ready."

"Master Evans?" Chad repeated as we were led through the restaurant, and I could sense his grin even though I wasn't looking at him.

"Shut up…" I said in the sweetest voice I could muster.

"Ryan!"

I stopped in shock as I saw Miss. Braxton at a table, with a different man! "We can find the table ourselves from here," I told our escort, pressing a five into his hand. He nodded and walked off. "Just say nothing and we can get away quickly," I muttered to Chad as I led him over. "You're a busy girl today, Miss. Braxton."

She giggled, "Well, it takes a lot to match up to you." Her gaze slid to Chad, "And who is this young man?"

I resigned myself to introductions, "This is my boyfriend, Chad Danforth. Chad, this is Helena Braxton- a friend of my mom's."

"Nice to meet you," Chad said politely.

"Geoffrey," I greeted, recognising her date.

"Ryan. How's the sister?"

"As good as ever."

"So, how long have you known each other?"

"Well, since kindergarten, but we only became close recently," Chad told her.

"I've known him since he was a boy," he told him. Oh, no… "Even then, he was a dramatist. Used to run around, singing and dancing for everyone."

I felt my face flush red. Great… Threaten my father off it and someone _else _brings out the embarrassing stories… "Oh, really…?" Chad drawled, casting me a sideways glance.

"Well, love to stay and chat, but… Places to go, people to see."

She giggled, "I've made you blush. You're even cuter when you blush."

Oh, my… Just kill me now, and spare me this humiliation… "We should get to our table," I announced. "Always a joy, Miss. Braxton. And give my best to your daughter, will you, Geoffrey?" And with that and a plastic smile, I grabbed Chad by the arm and hauled him off.

"Remind me to book a resort that I _didn't _grow up in next time," I fumed quietly.

Chad laughed, "But then we wouldn't get in for free…"

I smiled, my grip sliding down to his hand, "Mm… I knew there was a reason we were together."

"My cunning mi- Whoa!" Chad let out an exclamation as I led him round a corner into our own private area. There was a single table with two chairs- surrounded by candles and all the other romantic stuff. He let go of my hand to take a couple of stunned steps into the room, then turned back to me with wonder in his eyes, "You did this?"

I cocked my head to the side, "Well, technically, I just told them how to set it up…"

"But it was your idea?"

I shrugged loosely, uncomfortable under his praising gaze, "Yeah."

"It's incredible." He crossed to me, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me tenderly. "I can't believe you did all this."

"It's to make up for the fact that I'm subjecting you to dinner with my father tomorrow evening." I took his hand again, pulled him to the table.

Once seated, he picked up the menu, scanned it, "There's no prices." He saw my smirk before I could quite conceal it behind my own menu, and his eyes narrowed. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

I grinned at him, "I want you to buy what you want, not what you think you can afford."

He rolled his eyes, "I can't afford anything on this menu…"

I rubbed my foot up the inside of his calve soothingly; "Don't worry about that tonight."


	8. Part 7: Approved

Sorry for the wait!  
I'm glad to say that my exams for this year are over now, though, so I will have more time to update now. :)

Again, thank you for all comments, favouritisms and everything, it's awesome.  
And here's an add for you.

-.O.O.O.-

"Your check, Master Evans."

I picked it up before Chad could even touch it, and laughed as he pouted. I scanned it, making sure all was in order, then handed it back to the waiter along with my credit card, "Thank you."

"I still think it's evil that you won't tell me how much it was," Chad complained.

"You're not paying for it," I told him. "Why should you see?"

"I bet you're not paying, either," he bitched, sinking down in his seat childishly. "Who pays for that card?"

I frowned as I tried to remember which one I'd handed over, "I do, actually. That's my account for any acting jobs Shar and I get."

"Wow. So you are paying for dinner…" he marvelled.

"Your card, and this was left for you at the main desk."

I waited until the waiter had gone before opening the small envelope and reading the even smaller note inside.

'_Dinner's on me. See both of you tomorrow at seven._'

I chuckled, handing the note over for Chad to read, "I'm not paying, after all, but you can't say I didn't try."

--

"Good evening, boys," Dad told us as we bid farewell the following night.

"It was great to meet you, Mr. Evans," Chad told him, moving forward to shake his hand.

"You, as well."

I smiled at Chad, "Why don't you head up to the room? I'll catch up."

He nodded, an amused look in his eye that told me that he knew full well that we were going to talk about him once he was gone. "Okay. I'll see you there."

As soon as he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief, slanting my father a sideways glance, "You like him."

He nodded, "He's an honest, enthusiastic, refreshing young man. I support your relationship."

I smiled brightly, only now realising how much I craved his approval, and how pleased I was when he gave it to me. "Thank you."

He patted me on the shoulder gently, "Go on. I'll see you later."

"I'll stop by before we leave tomorrow."

"You know where to find me."

--

"I believe that was a success…" I told Chad as I walked into the room.

He grinned, "He approves?"

"He does." I sat on the couch, tugged off my shoes, "You did good."

He flopped down next to me, and I leaved into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Do you get on with your dad?" he asked, fiddling with a strand of my hair.

I nodded, looking up at him through my eyelashes, "Yeah. Why? Did it seem fake?"

"No. It's just… you always struck me as a Mommy's Boy."

"Oh, I am," I agreed, making him laugh as I settled my head down again. "But that doesn't mean that I don't get on with my dad. It's just different."

"How so?" he questioned.

I considered this question. I'd never really thought about it before. "Well, with my mom it's easy. Because I know that, no matter what I do, she'll never stop loving me, and supporting me. But my dad… I'm just always so aware of what he thinks. I guess… I feel like I have to match up."

Chad rubbed my temples gently, "Ryan, your dad thinks the world of you. I saw that tonight."

"I probably don't have to, but I feel like I need to work to impress him." I shook my head, not quite believing I was telling him my worst insecurity. "I dunno. Next to Shar, I just fade into the background…"

"Not for me," Chad promised, holding me closer to him. "Never for me."

--

"Ryan! You're home!" Troy greeted as I pulled my holdall out of my car.

I eyed him narrowly, not liking how casually he'd strode out of the house that wasn't even his, "You and Shar decided to cohabit while I was away?"

"You got a problem with that?" he asked, goading me as I walked past him into the front hall.

"Not at all," I called back as I started up the stairs. "This house is big enough that we can happily live on _opposite_ ends of it."

He was suddenly on top of me as I always almost at my room, his body pressing mine into the wall, his breath dancing over my cheek. "And why would we want to do that…?" he murmured.

I let my lips curve, long and slow, well aware that they were the focus of his attention right now. Then I tilted my head so my breath tainted his lips. His own breathing deepened, and his eyes slid closed as he moved his mouth towards mine, before being distracted by the fact that my knee shot into his crotch.

As he collapsed in agony, I crouched by him. "I just had a great weekend, Troy. And the last thing I want to do is ruin it. So, here's the thing: You touch me one more time, you pretentious asshole, it's not going to stay between us." And then, leaving him on the floor, I stood up again, continuing into my room with my holdall.

--

"Ryan!" Sharpay greeted enthusiastically as I ventured into the living room later on. "How was your weekend?"

I grinned at her, "Really good."

"So Daddy liked him?" she guessed.

"He did." I perched myself on the arm of the couch, and helped myself to a handful of Lays from the bowl on her lap. "Chad and I have father's express permission to remain a couple."

Sharpay bit into a chip, her eyes glinting, "So did you…?" All I had to do was blush, and she knew. She squealed loudly, seizing me in a bone crushing hug that almost had me in her lap.

"What's going on?"

"Ryan slept with Chad," Sharpay burbled happily, still not letting go of me. I saw a scowl appear on Troy's face- the face that Sharpay couldn't see.

"You've only just slept together?" he questioned, saving the bowl that was in severe danger of being upturned in my sister's lap.

I frowned, "Yeah. We wanted to wait until we were ready, since it was both of our first times."

"I think it's romantic," Sharpay proclaimed, finally releasing me. "Wait, so that means he never slept with McKessie?"

I shook my head, "They weren't together long enough."

My twin bounced excitedly on the couch, and I was thankful that she no longer had the chip bowl. "So, how was it?"

"Shar," I said warningly.

"C'mon! I told you about _my _first time!"

"We were-!" I winced as she elbowed me in the ribs, changed what I had been about to say. "-_fifteen_ at the time. My point is: We're seventeen now and too mature for this conversation."

She pouted, "Please…?"

Troy's face was thunderous, I noted as I glanced his way. I definitely wasn't having this conversation with him in the room. "Later," I told Sharpay.

"Fine. But, tell me this: Good or bad?"

I chuckled. My sister, the dog with the bone. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Good." And, as she squealed again, I left the room.


	9. Part 8: Disbelieved

Right. This will be the last add until at least the thirteenth of July, as I'm off on holiday to Turkey.  
Again, thank you for all the comments, favouritisms and alerts. You really do inspire me to keep going on this.

Hope you have a good Summer.  
Enjoy the add.

-.O.O.O.-

"I'm late! I'm late!"

"For a very important date," Sharpay quipped from the couch, where she and Troy were curled up in a very cutesy manner, watching a movie.

I paused by the sofa, pulled a face at her, "Cute. Have you seen my jacket, White Rabbit?"

She gave a pretty pout as Troy leaned back on the couch, hanging his arm off the back, "Think I saw it in the kitchen."

"I just looked in there." I stiffened as a hand slid down my lower back, creeping onto my ass, and I brought my hands back, digging my short nails into his arm forcefully, yanking his hand off me.

"Well, look harder!" she pressed. I rolled my eyes, and turned to stalk out again, bumping Troy's arm purposefully as I went. I walked to the kitchen, looked around for a moment.

I gave Troy a dark look as he walked in, "I don't want to talk to you."

He gave a chuckle, "Come on, Ryan…"

"No." I spotted my jacket on the chair across the room, strode to it. "I warned you! I warned you not to touch me, and what d'you go and do?"

"Yeah, but we both know you didn't mean it!" he insisted, putting his hand on my jacket so I couldn't get it off the chair.

Tugging on it nonetheless, I stared him down, "Oh, I was deadly serious… I think it's awful that you would hit on your best friend's boyfriend."

He slid his hand down so it covered mine, "But you can't deny that we have a-"

"We have nothing," I hissed. "Do you think any guy's gonna be attracted to the guy who's using his sister?"

Troy stroked his thumb over my hand, his eyes pleading, "Ryan…"

"You've made me do this… I didn't want to," I told him.

"Do what?"

I pulled my hand away, holding my coat, "I have to tell Chad."

--

"What did you think of that?" Chad asked as we left the cinema.

I let out a derisive snort, "That wasn't a movie. It was a sequence of explosions."

"Don't be stupid."

"There was no discernable plot!"

"Yes, there was!" he defended. "The plot was…"

I laughed as he faltered. "Was…?" I prompted tauntingly.

"About loads of explosions," he finished lamely, and I burst out laughing again, making a hurt look come onto his face. "Oh, shut up. I liked it."

"You would. You're such a typical _guy_. Anything with either explosions or attractive people and you're in there!"

He shoved me on the shoulder, "You're such a bitch…"

"You only mind when it's directed at you," I told him with a grin.

"And even then I can't hold it against you," he lamented, putting his arm around my shoulders and squeezing.

I couldn't help the way I tensed up, but he didn't seem to notice, either that or he ignored it or interpreted it as something else. "Chad?" I ventured.

"Mm?"

"I don't know how to say this…" I trailed off, brushing my fingertips over his hand absentmindedly.

"Say what?"

I shook my head, "Forget it. It's not important." What had I been thinking? I couldn't tell him that his best friend was being so vile towards me! It would crush him! He couldn't learn that Troy would do that to him….

He stopped, turned me so I was facing him. "It's clearly important to you. What is it?" He gripped my arms, stopping me from turning away.

I trained my eyes on my shoes, "It's Troy."

"What about him?" He used two fingers to prop up my chin, "Ryan, what's wrong?"

"Troy keeps hitting on me," I whispered as he forced my eyes to lock into his. He frowned, confusion coming into the dark brown orbs.

"What?"

I reached up to take the hand that supported my chin in mine, "It started a couple of weeks ago, and I've told him to stop it."

He shook his head, "He wouldn't."

"Chad," I said firmly. "He hasn't liked this relationship since the start."

Chad backed off, shaking his head still, "No. He was freaked out at first, but he's fine with it now. He's not homophobic."

"No, he's not," I agreed. "He told me to break it off with you, though. More than once."

"You must have misunderstood," he insisted.

I sighed, "Talk to him if you don't believe me. Ask him to back off, please."

He nodded, "I will."

--

"Hey," I greeted as I came up behind Chad the next day. He jolted, before turning to face me. I read the look on his face in a moment. "What?"

He shifted on his feet, purposefully avoiding eye-contact with me. Something was definitely up. "I spoke to Troy."

"Oh," I said slowly.

He worked up the courage to look me in the eye now. "Look, Ryan," he began, taking my hand in his and rubbing his thumb over my fingers. "I know you might have _thought_ that he was hitting on you, but-"

"Wait," I spat harshly, wrenching my hand from his. "What did he tell you?"

Chad swallowed nervously, as many did when faced with a glimpse of the Evans temper, and I hadn't even let it loose yet. "He said that he didn't know where you'd gotten that idea from. He was just trying to be friendly, and he's sorry if you took it the wrong way."

I rocked back on my heels, letting out a laugh, "You're so naïve, Chad. So gullible. No wonder he strings you along so easily."

The cold tone of my voice had him staring at me in shock, "Ry…?"


	10. Part 9: Anguished

Hey, guys.  
Sorry for the wait. My summer has been so busy!  
Here's an add for you between trips.  
I hope you're all well and thanks again for everything. It's nice to know that this is being well-recieved.  
When I get back from my camp, I'll try to get on to give you another add before I go to London.

-.O.O.O.-

"Tell me this:" I suddenly grabbed him by the arms, forcing him back into the row of lockers. I leaned into him, leaving my lips a mere whisper away from his. "Do you get this close when you're being 'friendly'?" I touched my lips to his, letting them linger before pulling back to stare into his eyes, "Do you get _that_ close?"

"Are you two okay?"

I didn't take my eyes off Chad as Zeke's voice sounded behind me. "I'm not the type of person to make you chose between me and your best friend," I told him reasonably. "I'm not that insecure. But how _dare_ you accuse me of lying about this."

"I'm not accusing you of lying, I'm just saying-"

"-that I have a hyperactive imagination that makes me picture your best friend doing that to me?" I finished coldly. "Why don't you just grow a spine and admit that you think I'm lying?"

"Ry-"

"Or, I'll tell you what: You can believe him, and I'll see that I'm never in your way to 'lie' to you ever again."

He gaped at me as I moved back, "Are you-?"

"Yes, Chad," I said easily. "I am." I backed off further, before turning and striding between the other two Wildcats who had been standing behind us. Jason stepped back with his palms up in a protective manner as I stormed by.

--

I slammed the front door behind me loudly as I stormed into the house after school. I'd decided not to cut school- that would make it look like I was upset about my break up with Chad. And I wasn't upset. I was furious. The Evans temper had swelled and was pumping in my veins.

My temper was something I could normally keep under control. Sharpay tended to unleash hers on even the smallest thing, but I reserved mine for something that genuinely upset me. And I would always rather deal with anger than anguish. I hated looking like I was weak. Despite all appearances, Sharpay was the one out of the two of us that was more prone to crying when she was down.

I wanted to beat something to a pulp, and if anyone annoyed me right now, it could easily be them. Not even bothering to change my clothes, I strode towards our private gym, ripping off my bag and dumping it unceremoniously along the way.

Striding into the gym, I slammed my fist straight into the punch bag hanging from the ceiling, letting out an infuriated cry. I turned and switched on the stereo, letting music pump out into the fitness room so I could scream all I wanted and no-one would hear. I slammed my fist into the punch bag again.

I battered both fists into the bag, ignoring the pain that shot through my hands and up into my arms. The tears came now, pouring down my cheeks silently as I vented my anger on the punch bag.

Once I had physically exhausted myself, I slumped against the punch bag, my back heaving as tears continued to stream down my face. I flexed my fingers, wincing as the raw flesh stung. My knuckles were bloody where the skin had split, and it was probably going to bruise, but I didn't care.

Pushing myself away from the punch bag, I strode into a space on the floor, spinning to the music. I just let it fill me, and danced. I didn't even think about what I was doing, but just moved. I did what I wanted to do, and vented my anger in a new way.

Then as I spun on the last few bars, I saw Troy standing by the door. "Get the hell out, Bolton," I commanded, raking a hand through my hair, having lost my hat at some point during my rage.

He moved forward quickly, his eyes wide, "What happened to your hands?"

I hid them behind my back instinctively, "Nothing."

"But-"

"_Don't _touch me," I snapped as he reached forward.

He took a step back, recognising the Evans temper even although my rage had definitely lessened thanks to the punch bag and the dancing. His hand closed meekly in mid-air. "I heard about what happened."

I strode to the stereo, turned down the volume on the song that was now playing, "I bet you did. I bet it's all around the school. You must be thrilled…!"

His eyes fixed on my exposed hand again, and I let him look this time, wanting- in some sick sense- for him to feel guilt. For him to realise what he'd done. I was even angrier at him than I was at Chad. Chad was just being loyal to his best friend- a quality I admired. Troy was just a lying, manipulative jerk.

"Congratulations, Troy," I told him softly, moving closer to him. "Chad and I are over. You got your wish. But, guess what…?" I dropped my voice to a whisper, moving right into him to make sure that he heard, "I still don't want you."

He stared into my eyes, before his gaze flicked down to my hand once more. He looked distraught- his eyes were wide glassy and his lower lip was trembling gently. If I hadn't been determined not to feel sorry for him, then I might have been. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's too late to be sorry." I turned my head away, closed my eyes. "Get out," I told him, my voice hitching slightly. "Go back to Sharpay and just leave me alone."

--

"On the bright side, this is going to look nice and colourful in a few days," Sharpay chirped as she pressed an ice-pack into my swollen knuckles. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped the night before. I hissed out a breath, screwing up my face as it stung. "You'll have to co-ordinate, though."

"Joy," I muttered, and yelped as he pressed the pack even further into my tender flesh in punishment.

"It's your own fault. You should have put on protection. How long does it take to put on a pair of gloves or wrap your knuckles?"

I scowled, "When you're that furious, you don't stop to consider safety precautions."

She giggled, "Just saying."

"Well, don't." I looked down at my hands, "You think I should wear gloves?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes, "No! Don't you see the opportunity here, Ry?"

I blinked, "What opportunity?"

"Aw…" She patted me on the shoulder condescendingly, "You're so cute! If Danforth sees that you're injured, he'll feel so bad about dumping you."

There was one major flaw in this plan. "But I dumped him."

She shrugged, "Then you'll make him feel even worse than he already does."


	11. Part 10: Coaxed

Hey.  
I've been fiddling with this next part for a while, and I think I've managed to get it to flow how I want it to now.  
This is an add to keep you going while I'm in London for a week.  
Hope you enjoy it.  
Hope you're all well.  
And thank you to everyone for reading this and favouriting/alerting/commenting. It makes me happy.  
And a happy Lynne is a productive Lynne. :P

-.O.O.O.-

"Hey, Ryan," Zeke greeted, arriving next to my locker. I eyed him sceptically. Hadn't he heard…? No, wait. He had been there when it happened.

"Hey…" I said slowly.

Zeke was smiling- not the expression I expected to see on one of the best friends of the guy I'd just dumped. He held up a Tupperware container in offering, "Cookie?"

I continued to watch him for a moment, then reached in for one as he shook it hopefully. As my fingers touched one of the cookies, he gasped. Realising my mistake, I pulled my hand back quickly, hiding it behind my back, but it was too late. "What happened to your hand?!"

"Nothing."

His eyes flickered, but he just shook the tub again. "Then take a cookie," he challenged.

I stared him down for a moment, then rolled my eyes and reached in again, taking a cookie as he studied my hand. I bit into it, acting casual. "They're really good."

"Who did that to your hand?"

"I did." I took another bite of the cookie, chewed. "So what's with the cookies?"

He shifted on his face, as if he were ashamed at being caught, "Chad's very sorry."

"Tell him it's fine." As his jaw dropped, I shrugged, "He's loyal to his best friend. I don't resent him for that."

He sighed, closing his container, "But you're not taking him back?"

"No."

"But he's so-"

"Sorry?" I finished. "Yeah, I know. And I'm not holding what he did against him, but it's going to take more than undoubtedly delicious cookies to tempt me back."

He sighed, "Okay."

"Hi!" Gabriella enthused, bouncing up to us. At once, her eyes landed on the container still in Zeke's hands, "Ooh… Are those what I think they are?"

"Double chocolate chip," Zeke told her dutifully, opening it so she could take one. Gabriella could never resist the call of Zeke's baking. He offered it to me. "One for the road?"

I grinned, "Why not?" I took another cookie, ignoring Gabriella's gasp of horror, and waved Zeke off. "So, what's he got to say?" I asked her, taking a bite.

Her eyes went wide and faux-innocent, telling me that I was bang on the money with that assumption. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You're a terrible liar, Montez." I shrugged, "Plus, I saw him shove you in my direction."

She groaned as I grinned at her condescendingly. "You're good. Okay, here's the deal: He feels terrible. He called me last night, and he was freaking out. Saying that you'd wrecked your hands." She examined them as I bit into my cookie again, "And I'd say he was right about that."

"Admittedly, not my best idea."

"Ryan," she said seriously. "I know that Troy can be a complete and utter moronic douche bag at times. He tends to act now and think later. But he does care about you. And he'd rather have you as a friend if nothing else."

I rolled my eyes, "Gabi, we never _were_ friends."

"Never too late to start."

I sighed, "Well, that's not going to happen if he keeps hitting on me."

"He'll stop," she promised. "He'll act normal. Or…as normal as Troy's _capable_ of acting… He is a bit strange…" She glanced at her watch, realised the time, "Walk and talk, Evans."

"I don't know," I said reluctantly as we walked down the corridor towards our form room. "It would be weird."

She shook her head, "It wouldn't. Please. He's sorry. Just give him a chance… He won't so much as look at you funny, and you can make a fair judgement on his character."

I chuckled to myself, "If Chad had sent you, he'd be laughing. Zeke may have the baked goods, but you have the pitch." As we walked into form, I followed her back to her desk, perched myself on it. "Okay. You tell him that I'll give him one chance. I don't want him to mention _it_, and we'll just go straight into the friend attempt."

She pulled me down into a slightly uncomfortable hug with a look of joy on her face, "Thank you! I'll tell him. You won't regret it. He's great once you get to know him, and…y'know; he's not eying you up and stuff."

"Don't you have a way with words…?" I teased, pushing her in the arm playfully. Then Ms. Darbus bustled in, and I moved to my seat, purposefully avoiding eye contact with the two boys across the room.

--

I steadied my feet on the ladder over the stage, and stretched up to use the staple gun to attach a lurid pink flower to the set for the new winter musical. Then I cursed as two more flowers slipped out from under my arm.

"Flowers falling," a voice commented. "Apt for this season." I turned on the ladder to see Chad standing in front of the stage, hands tucked into his pockets casually. He hopped up onto the stage in one oddly graceful move, and walked to collect them for me while I just watched him suspiciously from my ladder. "What's with the flowers, anyway?"

I shrugged, "Sharpay's orders. I've learnt not to disagree." I took the blue one he held up, and went to staple it in place, "Least they're not _all_ pink."

He handed me the last one, watched me attach it to the set. "How are your hands?"

"They're fine," I told him flippantly, climbing down the ladder and walking to set the staple gun on the set tool table. As I turned back, he caught my wrists in an expert move. I could see why he'd waited until the gun was out of my hands. "Let me go," I ordered him, keeping my voice cool and my face hard.

But he ignored me, his eyes taking in the damage. "Why would you do this to yourself…?" he breathed.

I scoffed, jerking him off, "I didn't mean to. This isn't me self-harming over you."

"No, this is you being too wrapped in your own fury to protect yourself before beating up a punch bag," he retorted. I glared at him, wondering who had told him the gory details. It had to be either Troy or Sharpay.

"Be glad it was a punch bag and not someone's face," I said mildly, moving back to take in the whole set critically. I frowned upwards suddenly. "That flower's squint," I muttered, starting forward.

He caught my arm, "Ryan, will you stop moving and just talk to me?!"

I stared into his face; saw the irritation on it now. The frustration in the crease between his brows, the annoyance reflected in the brown of his eyes. "I'll talk to you once you have something interesting to say."

"I don't want us to be over."

"I don't like being called a liar."

"I didn't call you a liar!" he exploded, and he let go of my arm before his anger led him to do something he might later regret.

I took a single step back, narrowing my eyes at him, "Why are you even here? I told Zeke I didn't mind you backing Troy."

"But that you didn't want to give it another go," he added. "Why?"

I sighed. I hated explaining my feelings to people. The words never seemed to convey it properly. "Because…I don't want to be with someone who thinks I've made something up. Someone who could easily use that against me in the future."

He looked affronted, "How could you believe I would do that…?"

"Because it's a rule, Chad," I told him hotly. "Friends always come first. And I love that you think like that. I love that you're so loyal to your friends. And I get that you don't want to believe that Troy would ever do what I claim he did. But I don't want to be there the day that you decide that I'm some attention seeker who wants to push you and Troy apart so that I can have you to myself."

"That wouldn't happen!"

I held up a hand, silencing his protest, "But it would. Because it always does. Because I'm not worth believing. People think: 'Oh, that's Sharpay's twin. She's lied in the past, so, hey, he must lie too!'" I looked up into his eyes, "It happens all the time, Chad. I'm not watching it happen again. Not this time."

It was like he was looking at me through new eyes. He stared at me with a shocked expression, his mouth hanging open slightly. When he managed to speak, it came out in a whisper, "How can you have such a low opinion of yourself…?"

"It's hard not to when everyone thinks of you as second best."


	12. Part 11: Convinced

Sorry again for the wait.  
But I have another add for you.  
Enjoy.  
And thank you to everyone for...everything.  
It's inspiration to me.

-.O.O.O.-

Silence burned between us. Aware I had already said too much, I turned to leave, "Forget the flower. I'm going."

But he held his grip on my arm, and pulled me back, catching my lips with his. Before I knew what was happening, I responding, the kiss becoming steadily more passionate and bruising as it progressed. He pulled me against him roughly, and I drove my hands into his hair. It seemed that no matter what, I couldn't stay away from him.

"Give me another chance?" he murmured.

I sighed, dropping my hands to his shoulders, "I dunno, Chad…"

But his eyes bored into mine unrelentlessly, "Ryan, I would never compare you to your sister. Not now I know you. You're different. You're calm while she's loud; you're controlled while she bares all. You balance each other."

I was surprised by how accurately he'd gotten it. That was why Sharpay and I got on so well, because we made up for each other's shortcomings. But I still shook my head. "But that's not all…"

"Ryan," he said seriously. "I will do anything. Why won't you let me?"

"Why won't you let me push you away?"

He gave me a cocky smile, leant in to kiss my lips again softly, "Because you don't want to." I felt his smile grow wider as my lips melded to his, then pulled back to stare into my eyes. "Over a day broken up. That's ages in teen years."

"Mm."

"And can you please try to get along with Troy?" he asked softly. I narrowed my eyes at him challengingly. "If he does anything out of order, then you can stop, but…be nice?"

I pretended to consider, like I hadn't already agreed this with Gabriella this morning. "I'll try," I said grudgingly.

He smiled again, "Thank you."

Right on cue, Troy appeared in the doors at the back of the auditorium. I raised a hand to tell him that I was coming. Gabriella had decided that our bonding was to start right away, and so Troy was coming back to the house, even though Sharpay had ballet until half five. I kissed Chad softly once more, "I'll see you later."

He turned his head, saw Troy, and turned back to me with accusation in his eyes, "You were already going to give him another chance, weren't you?"

"Maybe," was my cheeky response. "Maybe Gabi bet you to it. Maybe your request would have worked anyway."

Chad laughed, "Maybe." He kissed me again, "Thank you. See you later."

--

The ride home from school was stiflingly quiet, as neither of us were entirely sure what to say. Should we feign tolerance and talk about trivial things, such as favourite bands and good films? Or ought we to act like it was our first meeting? Of course, it was true enough that we didn't know each other, but it would be weird to act like we'd never met before.

As I led the way into the house, I decided to take it slowly. "You wanna watch a movie?" I said to Troy.

He seemed surprised that I was the one who was breaking the silence barrier. He took a moment to answer, blinking carefully, then he nodded. "Yeah. That would be…cool."

--

"How's it going with Troy?" Gabriella asked, dragging her paintbrush across the backcloth idly. She was knelt on the stage with it spread in front of her, painting the back of it in blue before moving onto other details.

I sighed from up my ladder, where I was still trying to get the damn flowers right. "Awkward. It's like we're tiptoeing around each other." I climbed down, and sat down next to her, taking the other paintbrush and starting to help her out, giving up on the flowers for now. "I mean, it's not that we aren't trying. It's just…not clicking, y'know."

She nodded, "It might take time. Just keep at it. He really appreciates that you're trying for him."

"He better," I muttered, to her amusement. Then I snapped my fingers. "You should hang out with both of us! You know, act like a buffer!"

Gabriella pursed her lips thoughtfully, "I dunno…"

"Please…?" I begged, trying to make myself look as cute as possible. "It would help so much…"

She rolled her eyes, "Okay, okay. Don't beg. It's not becoming."

There was a sound of a door falling shut, and we turned to see Troy walking up one of the aisles to the stage. He smiled at us as he neared, jogging up the steps. "Hey."

"Hey," I greeted.

"Need any help?"

I grinned up at him, "Always. Pick a brush."

He took the one that Gabriella held over her shoulder for him, and sat down next to me, helping to fill in the blue background on the cloth. After a moment, he glanced at me, "I meant to ask, when's your audition, again? The one for the play."

"Next month," I told him, pleased that he had remembered the audition. Then again, Sharpay probably went on about it to him. It had been too weeks since I had agreed to give Troy a chance. Still, I wasn't aware he was paying that much attention. Chad didn't even seem to know I had an audition coming up.

"You reckon you're ready?" he asked, breaking gaze with me and leaning forward to paint a section.

I chuckled, moving my brush over the cloth, "It doesn't matter what I think. If Sharpay doesn't think it's perfection, then we go into crackdown and I die a slow and painful death. And she _never_ thinks it's perfection."

Gabriella laughed, "Drama queen."

"No Sharpay crackdown experience, no opinion."

Troy snickered beside me as she rolled her eyes. "Sure…" She moved her brush up to put a blob on the tip of my nose before I could react. "Stop overreacting."

My jaw dropped. Well, then. If that's how she was playing it… My hand shot up and she ended up with a blue streak across her cheek. She made a noise of indignation, and lunged for me again, but I ducked and her brush went over my head.

We both froze, staring at each other. Then we turned to look sheepishly up at Troy. His face was set into a mask of disapproval, a paint streak going from under his nose, through his lips and down his chin. I smiled at him sweetly, "Sorry…"

His eyes locked onto mine, "Do you find this in any way amusing?"

"No," I lied, even as my lips gave a traitorous twitch. "I think it's awful."

"Mm," he concurred. "Why don't we give you a matching stripe? The blue would match your eyes…"

I held up a finger as he moved his brush slightly towards me, "Don't you dare, Bolton! Touch me with that and I'll-"

I leant back as he gave a playful swipe with the brush, so I was bent back over my knees. He grinned, moving forward, "You'll what?"

"I'll set my sister on you," I hissed.

There was a giggle from Gabriella, "That's a threat!"

But Troy wasn't phased, and pressed one hand firmly into my upper chest. I writhed as he held me down, crying out as he took his paintbrush to my face with a flourish, putting small dabs everywhere. He stopped for a moment, peering at me, then he put one last swish under my chin, proclaiming: "Perfect!"

"I can't believe you just did that," I said slowly, still half in shock.

He grinned at me again, but any response was cut off when someone cleared their throat. We all looked round to see Sharpay standing by the base of the stage. She looked nervous, I noted. "Troy, can I talk to you?"

Troy glanced at me, and I shrugged from the floor to tell him I didn't know what it was about. He handed Gabriella his paintbrush and stood up, "Yeah. Sure."


	13. Part 12: Dumped

Hey.  
Sorry for the wait.  
I've been really busy, and when I tried the other night, it wouldn't let me log in.  
However, my summer holidays are officially over, and so I'm back to school for the new term.  
Again, thank you for all the comments, favouritism and alerts.  
I hope you enjoy the add.

-.O.O.O.-

I sat up as Troy hopped down off the stage, and watched Sharpay lead him over to the side. "Wonder what that's about…" Gabriella murmured to me.

I shrugged, "No idea. I got a sense that it wasn't good news, though."

"Twin telepathy?" she teased. I shoved her on the arm.

"Shut up!"

"Like I'm taking orders from half a smurf!" But she grinned as she set down one of the paintbrushes she was holding, then put a hand to the corner of her mouth, "You have a little something… Right here."

I rolled my eyes, "Very mature, Montez."

"What? I'm just trying to help…"

"Uh-huh…" I could feel the paint starting to dry on my face, and it itched like hell. "I'm sure you are…in your own demented little way…"

As we bickered, Sharpay and Troy seemed to be having a slightly more serious discussion. He had one hand on her arm, and was saying something in a low voice, like Gabriella and I didn't know better than to eavesdrop. Sharpay looked uncomfortable, which in turn made me uncomfortable. What was going on?

Gabriella had her head down, and was working on the backcloth again. "He'll tell us," she muttered to me out of the corner of her mouth.

I sighed, doing likewise and dipping my brush back into the paint tray, "So will she, no doubt. I just hate the wait…" She nodded in agreement.

"Ryan?"

I turned to face Sharpay, who had come back to the base of the stage. She had a smile in place. A glance told me that Troy was still standing by the wall, a weird look on his face. "What?"

"Mom said to tell you that she'd be out tonight, so the house is ours. I was thinking Movie Night?"

I grinned. Movie Night was a monthly ritual. The timing varied depending on when we had the house to ourselves, but we made sure that we always did it. "Definitely."

"Fabulous. Don't make plans." She gave me another smile, turning to leave, but she paused. "And if you're going to insist on that new look, then I'll _have _to teach you how to apply it properly." Nodding, she turned and bounced off.

The smile faded from my face as soon as she was gone, "Something's definitely wrong."

"She seemed fine," Gabriella said, a confused quality to her voice.

I snorted incredulously, "She wasn't. She's upset about something." Scrambling down off the stage, leaving all my grace behind in the process, I went to Troy, "What happened?"

He was gripping one arm close to his body, that weird look still on his face. He shrugged listlessly, "She dumped me."

My jaw dropped, and I heard Gabriella let out a gasp. I hadn't seen that coming. Despite all of Troy's former advances towards me, his relationship with my sister had always seemed fairly strong. She had appeared to like him a lot, and he had definitely been one of her longest relationships to date. "What? Why?"

"She wouldn't give me a reason."

I was even more flummoxed. That wasn't like Sharpay, either. She normally revelled in telling guys just what was wrong with them. "Well, are you sure you heard right?"

Troy turned his blank gaze to me, "It's not really something you mishear."

"But I don't understand."

Gabriella crouched down on the edge of the stage, "She couldn't know…could she? About the…?"

"Who would tell her?" I asked, turning to look at her. "I didn't. You didn't. Chad… doesn't believe it. And Troy…"

"I didn't." He was shaking his head as I looked back to him. "Excuse me," he muttered, pushing past me and sprinting for the doors of the auditorium.

I turned to face Gabriella again, "He really liked her, didn't he? Despite everything with me… he liked her."

She nodded sadly, "What can I say? He just has a thing for Evans'." As I crossed to the stage, she smiled softly, "He wouldn't have stayed with her for so long, otherwise."

I splayed my hand on the stage in front of me, "I didn't realise."

"He didn't start dating Sharpay to get close to you, Ryan," she told me. "He just realised he couldn't control himself around you once he had."

"I knew that he liked her." A sigh left my mouth, "I just didn't see how much…"

"Hey," a new voice called from the back of the auditorium. I cringed, leaning even more heavily against the side of the stage, causing Gabriella to give me a questioning look. I raised a single finger, motioning to my face, and understanding came into her eyes. She'd managed to get used to the paint, and hadn't realised the probable humiliation this would cause.

But I smiled and turned to face him as he walked down the aisle nonetheless, "Hey, Chad."

He stopped short when he saw me, his eyes widening, "Whoa! Did you miss the canvas or something, Gabi?"

"It was Troy," I corrected, pulling my aqua coloured peaked cap down over my face in an attempt to hide some of it.

But Chad was grinning as he crossed to me. "C'mon, Ry…!" He greeted me with a soft kiss as he reached me, then whispered: "You know I always love you in blue…"

I laughed as he kissed me again, more firmly this time. "Like you notice what I wear!"

He patted me on the cheek condescendingly, "Ry… It's hard not to."

I thumped him on the arm, "Shut up."

"Glad to." He kissed me again softly to aid his silence. "You free tonight?"

I shook my head apologetically, "Nah. Shar and I are staying in. I said I'd do it. She'll be down after the thing with Troy as well, so…"

He frowned, "What d'you mean?"

"Didn't you talk to Troy coming out?"

Chad shook his head, "I didn't see him. Why? What's happened?"

"They broke up," Gabriella told him. While Chad and I had been talking, she'd managed to put on her jacket and collect her bag. "I'm gonna go make sure he's okay."

"Fix other people's love lives since you don't have one of your own…?" I teased.

She nodded solemnly, "That's a cutting remark, Smurfette…" Then she leapt off the stage and seemed to glide down the aisle and out the door, "'Bye!"

I scowled, "Charming creature."

"You're just jealous that she got the last word." Chad smiled, "I better go check he's okay as well. Are you cool to get home?"

"Yeah." I nodded, brushing my lips over his once more. "I brought my car. See you later."

--

"I think we should go for this one first." She held up a DVD. "Get the horror out of the way before it gets dark."

I shrugged, "Sure." And as she smiled and went to put it in the disc tray, I considered my words carefully. "Shar?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you break up with Troy?" I winced as she froze. Okay, so upfront was a bad tactic. "I mean, I don't understand. You seemed fine."

"We were," she said stiffly. My frown deepened.

"Then why did you-?"

"Ryan," she said patiently, coming to sit next to me on the couch, setting the DVD case on the table. "Do you really want to know why I had to break up with Troy?" I just nodded, pushing myself up on the couch and tucking my legs under myself. She took a breath, "Because he likes you."


	14. Part 13: Worried

Ah! I feel so bad!  
I am so terribly, humongously, incredibly sorry!  
I had a bout of block on this for about a month, then I finally got some written and I was gearing up to post it.  
Then my internet died for a month.  
It was annoying and insane.  
But I am here and I have a chapter.  
Sorry again!  
Thanks for everything!

-.O.O.O.-

My heart stopped. She knew. Sharpay knew. "What?" I spluttered.

She looked pained, "He didn't say, but I know. I know he does. Just the way he looked at you whenever you came in the room, the way he'd put down yours and Chad's relationship. And he spoke about you all the time. And then you started spending more time together, and I had to-"

I shook my head furiously, "But that doesn't mean he _likes _me!"

"Yes, it does," she argued. "You might not realise, but I do. I've been seeing it for ages, and I decided to break up with him before he dumped me for you."

I snorted in amusement, "You think I'd take him? I have Chad, thank you very much."

She pulled a face, "And he's kinda cute, and quite nice, I guess. But Troy's just adorably endearing."

"He's not my type!" I protested.

She seemed more comfortable now as she surveyed me critically. She must have had a lot of time to mull this over, I realised. That was the only way that she could be so calm about the whole thing. She had thought about it. "Troy's everyone's type. He's sporty, popular, but different. He's funny. He's sweet. He's hot. He's a fabulous kisser." She leaned towards me, "He's a charmer, Ry. Everyone who's that way inclined likes him eventually." A knowing look came into her eye, "And even some who aren't."

I rolled my eyes, "He did not turn Kaycee Louden! She was faking lesbianism for attention!"

There was a glint in her eye now, "Just keep telling yourself that. And I don't blame you for what's happened. Be careful, though yeah? I'm not lying when I say he likes you."

I threw a cushion at her, "Just put on the movie."

--

I swallowed nervously as I pressed a finger down on the doorbell, hoping that I'd managed to catch him before he left for school. The door was pulled open, and Coach Bolton was stood there. He looked surprised, "Oh, good morning, Ryan."

"Morning. Is Troy in?" I asked nervously.

"Of course," he remarked, stepping back to let me in. "He's only just gotten up. He's still in his room. Straight upstairs, last door on the left."

I thanked him, and jogged up the stairs. I saw Troy's door immediately. It was the one with sport and music posters all over it. I moved towards it, and knocked twice before entering. Troy yelped, grabbing hold of a pillow. "Ryan!"

"I did knock."

"Barely," he remarked darkly.

I sighed, rolling my eyes to the ceiling, "Troy, I have no interest in your penis. Put on a pair of boxers if you're so self-conscious."

He sidled over to a drawer, pillow still in place, and opened it. "I was getting to it before you came barging in." He glanced up at me, "Turn around!"

I held up my hands in mock surrender, spinning on the spot, "Fine…" I heard shuffling behind me as I waited. "You never care in the showers at school."

"You don't stand and stare at me there."

"Was I looking anywhere but your face?" I demanded.

There was a moment of silence. "You can turn around now."

I turned back, noted the pair of navy boxers that now covered the area which had been concealed by the pillow. I had to force my eyes off his chest. I couldn't doubt that it was…toned. "I found out why Sharpay broke up with you."

"What? Why?"

A step was taken in his direction, "Because she knows."

He looked blank, "Knows what?"

"Oh, that you're not a natural brunette," I quipped. "What d'you think I mean?!" I moved even closer, lowering my voice, "She knows that you…"

As I shifted on my feet uncomfortably, realisation dawned in his eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Yes! She…warned me last night." I narrowed my eyes, "Apparently, your feelings are like an open book."

He winced, "I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, well, now she's telling me that it won't be long before I dump Chad for you and…" I stared at him critically, "You can hide your feelings from Chad, but you can't hide them from her?!"

Troy rolled his eyes, grabbing a pair of jeans from the end of his bed and starting to put them on, "Like I didn't try! She just knows everything where you're concerned. You can't cover. You can lie, but she knows."

"Well, we need to make sure that she doesn't pick up on anything else."

--

"Go on," Chad coaxed playfully. "Shoot a basket."

I didn't even look up at him, "It's not that impossible, you know…"

He came to the side of the stand set up in the gym, where I was sitting on the fifth step up, working on some homework I was behind on. Out of my peripheral vision now, I saw him hold out the basketball to me, "Then prove it."

"I'm working," I reminded him.

"Only takes a moment to shoot a basket."

I wrote down an answer slowly just to annoy him, "The deal was: You could work on your free-throws while I did this."

"You should take a break."

I looked up at him, took in his pouting face, "I'll break when I've been working for more than ten minutes. I need to get this done, Chad. Shar wants to work on the stage after school, then we have rehearsal for this play-audition-thingie and… I just _need _to get this done, okay?"

"Okay, okay, okay," he soothed, dropping the basketball so that it bounced away as he jogged up the stand to the row behind me. He put his fingers on either side of my jaw, probing. "Unclench," he ordered, and I released my gritted teeth. "You're too tense," he told me. "That's why you're so stressy."

"I'm not stressy."

He made a disbelieving noise, his magic fingers moving onto my neck. I hummed slightly as he began to work on the knots. "When was the last time you did your yoga?" he asked.

I thought about it, shrugged, "A couple of weeks. I've been all over the place."

"Well, you need to take some you time," he told me sternly. "This can't be good for you."

"Yeah, well, if I knew what was good for me, then Sharpay would be doomed."

"You can't let her control your life."

My eyes had slid closed due to his massage, but now they snapped open again. "I'm not letting her control my life. Don't be ridiculous. Do you really think I would do all of this if I didn't want to?"

He turned his attention to my shoulders, "But it's making you moody."

"I'll be fine. It'll die down soon. We'll enlist people to help with the musical, and- after the audition- Sharpay will calm down."

"And you'll still push yourself this hard," he muttered. "Ryan, you need to take care of yourself."

"I am!" I protested.

There was a pause. "Have you eaten this morning?"

Damn it. "Yes."

"Don't lie if you don't like being called a liar," was all he said.

I harrumphed, shoving my History stuff aside and standing up, walking down to the basketball court, "So I forgot? It's one day."

"Now."

I gave him an incredulous look as I picked up the basketball, "When did you become my mother?"

"_Ryan_."

I sighed, before repeating myself: "It'll get better." I began to dribble towards the basket and shot. The ball went right in.

"Ryan…" Chad said with a sigh, moving back down towards me. I retrieved the ball and passed it to him. "I just don't want you to flunk because you're too preoccupied with other things."

"I won't. Don't worry."

He dropped the ball and moved to me, grabbing hold of my face and pressing his lips firmly to mine. "I worry, Ry," was all he said before kissing me again.


	15. Part 14: Stressed

I am so crap at this!  
My block has been ridiculous on this, but I'm getting myself back on track and I think I'm almost there.  
Sorry.  
Hope I haven't lost you all in my absence. *nervous*  
Once more, so sorry!

-.O.O.O.-

I shook off my limbs as I walked out of the gym. It felt so good to have a proper workout. It was only once I'd gotten onto the mat that I'd realised how tense I'd managed to get. I felt so much looser now. I walked up to my room, and took a quick cold shower in order to boost my adrenaline. I was just doing up my trousers as there was a knock on the door. "Yeah?"

Troy poked his head round the door, smiled at me, "Hey."

"Hey." I turned to face him as I tugged my belt into place, "What's up?"

"You busy tonight?"

I shrugged, "No."

"Great," Troy enthused as I turned away to pick out a t-shirt. "'Cause Gabi and I were planning to go and see a movie, and we thought you might want to come along."

"As long as it's not that new explosion flick," I remarked. "I'm still trying to convince Chad he _doesn't _want to see it."

He laughed as I finally found a black t-shirt and pulled it on. As I turned back, there was a faint flush in his cheeks, but I let him away with it. Couldn't really stop him from being flustered by my bare chest when he had no control over the matter… "It's not. Gabi doesn't want to see that, either. Maybe I'll go with Chad."

"Would you?" I asked eagerly. He just grinned at me, obviously not realising that I was being deadly serious. I sighed, turning away to tug my silver-pinstriped navy blue shirt out of the wardrobe. I shrugged into it quickly, and buttoned it. Now, where was my Union Jack cap…? "What time?" I asked, opening a drawer and shuffling through it.

"About eight?"

I pulled the navy blue cap out of the drawer with a cry of triumph, ignoring his badly concealed snort of laughter. "I'll be there," I told him, pulling it on and adjusting it so that the stitched Union Jack was facing straight out from where it covered half the peak.

"I'll pick you up," he suggested.

---

"Why does she always insist on getting popcorn?" I commented to Troy as we took our seats in the cinema later that night. Gabriella had told us to come and claim seats while she queued.

Troy shrugged, looking bemused, "She likes it…?"

"Yeah, but it's so expensive," I complained. "Complete rip-off."

He chuckled as he leant on the armrest between us, a mocking look on his face, "I wouldn't think that money would be your concern."

I cocked my head slightly to regard him, "If you have money, you see the importance of holding onto it, and are less inclined to waste it on cinema popcorn."

He grinned, "Tight."

"Am not." I turned so that I was facing him, "Next to Shar, anyone would look tight." I stared into his eyes. How had I never noticed how blue they were before…? It must be the fact that he'd just redone the brown dye in his hair recently. There was more of a contrast.

I found myself watching his lips curve slowly. "That's true." I wrenched my eyes off them and sank back in my chair. What the hell was wrong with me? Since when did I stare at Troy's lips?! "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding confused.

I shrugged, feigning casualness, "Fine."

There was a moment of silence, before I felt him sit back as well. He was choosing not to question me- probably a wise move on his part. "So has Sharpay gone into crackdown mode?"

"Hm?" I was distracted by my own thoughts.

"Your audition. It's in…what? Two weeks?"

"Well remembered," I complimented, relaxing a little again. "And, no. Surprisingly, she hasn't."

Troy nodded, "Well, that's good. She clearly thinks you'll clinch it."

I made a thoughtful noise, "Maybe. Or she was just waiting until the last fortnight to go nuts. Only time will tell."

"I'm sure you'll get it," he said confidently. "You're a natural stage presence."

I snickered slightly, shifting in my seat to get more comfortable, "No, I'm not. She's the natural stage presence. Takes a lot of work to be noticed next to her, believe me. Nothing natural about it."

He smiled at me wryly, "Then we agree to disagree."

"Fine, then."

Gabriella collapsed into the chair next to Troy with a 'whumph'. "Maybe one of you two should have stayed with me. I looked so greedy! He probably thought I was going to eat all of this by myself!"

Troy perked up, "You're not?"

"Go away. My popcorn."

---

I jumped as I came out of a spin to find Chad watching me in amusement. "Oh, hi! Did Sharpay let you in?"

"Your butler," he corrected, and I grinned. Ever since Mom had gotten back from her holiday, all the staff that we had temporarily dismissed had been called back to work. "He said you were down her, practicing obsessively."

"He did _not _say 'obsessively'."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, so that was me. But he did say you were practicing."

I sighed, flicking off the sound system, "In the loosest sense of the word. I can't quite get the- Never mind." He didn't want to hear about my dancing toils. I smiled at him now as I grabbed my towel, "What's up?"

"I wanted to catch you before you made plans for tomorrow," he said. "There's an amazing concert on downtown, and I want to get tickets."

A frown formed on my face as I wiped my face, "Are there still decent tickets available?"

He nodded, "It's standing, so it doesn't matter when you buy tickets."

"Mm. Sweaty crowd…"

"Prude."

I smacked him with my towel, "Who's the band?"

"Not telling."

I laughed now, "Seriously?"

"Come on…" He grinned at me, "Where's your sense of adventure, Evans? I promise that you'll love it."

I rolled my eyes, "Okay. But, if I hate it, I'm never letting you do this again."

His smile was bright as he leant in to kiss me softly, "Just have faith." Then he slicked a hand down my arm, "And take a shower. You're disgusting."

"Always good to hear off your boyfriend…"

---

The next day, I took to the stage during my free periods, going over the routine until my legs ached from the strain. I was getting stressed now. Every time I messed up, I seemed to convince myself further that I was going to flunk this audition, and I didn't like that thought one bit. I swore loudly, kicking the stage.

"That's not very nice. It's not the stage's fault."

I spun around to see Troy standing at the front of the stage, leaning on it as he watched me. How long had he been there? How many mess ups had he seen? Why hadn't I noticed him coming in? "I know it's not," I admitted. "I'm just not doing very well."

"What's up?" he asked, swinging himself up onto the stage.

"I just keep messing up everything."

He shrugged, "Maybe you're taking it too seriously."

My eyes narrowed, "'Too seriously'?! Troy, I have never had an audition this serious before! I can't treat it like a walk in the park!"

His eyes rolled up towards the ceiling, "Nice to see that you still have your dramatic side. What I meant was: Isn't dancing meant to be about the joy of it? You're meant to enjoy yourself, or it just looks like something you've memorised, which is boring."

I considered this for a moment, "I guess…"

"Teach me the routine."

"What?"

He grinned at my blank look, "Come on. You know what they say. You remember ninety-five per cent of something by teaching it to someone else. It'll take your mind off messing up for a moment."

"You suck at making people feel better," I remarked dryly.

"You want my help or not?"


End file.
